Application deadline extended!
Apply to become an Open Science trainer in Aachen-now until 25 July!
Want to share your knowledge & grow your skills in open, collaborative research? This is your chance!
For researchers, trainers & support staff
Learn how to teach Open Science
Build a supportive network
Apply here: https://events.digital-research.academy/event/101/
What is a Preprint and Why Should I Care?
Toot 1: Preprints are not only a way for you to share your research fast, but also allow you to make your paper open access for free.
Big Biology Library
Listen to our latest episode “Call of the wild”, now available on Big Biology. Featuring Rae Wynn-Grant host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
#Melbourne Friends!
Sydney event sold out tonight, but next week, we're bringing Katie down your way for several events, which are also close to selling out. Grab your tickets quick!
Here are the links:
1. Science Communication Panel feat. Dr Katie Mack, Dr Kirsten Banks, Dr Sara Webb, Rami Mandow and moderated by Prof. Alan Duffy. Event hosted at Swinburne University of Technology / OzGrav.
Tickets: https://www.ozgrav.org/event/science-communication-panel-telling-the-stories-of-the-universe/
2. Later that the evening at Swinburne and with OzGrav, Katie's public lecture on 'The End of Everything'.
Tickets: https://www.swinburne.edu.au/events/2025/07/public-lecture-featuring-dr-katie-mack.html/
3. Join Katie and Alicia Sometimes for a special Art meets Science event at The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas
Tickets: https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2025/creating-the-universe
4. Katie is teaming up with Aussie QueersInScience scientists for a fun, science-in-the-pub evening, which will also feature Rami Mandow, Catriona Vi Nguyen-Robertson, Krystal De Napoli, Deanne Fisher and hosted by Chloe Mackallah.
Tickets: https://queersinscience.org.au/event/queer-astronomy-katie-mack/
All events are nearing 80% capacity, so you better jump in and grab a ticket soon, before they're all gone. Please share with your networks too!
Folks in #Sydney, interested in #ScienceCommunication and near Macquarie Uni. - there's a fun SciComm panel tomorrow at lunch feat.
Dr Katie Mack (AstroKatie), me, Dr Paige Erpf & Prof. Ronika Power discussing why translating science matters.
[Free event but rego required]
Böööörlin!
Ich lasse mich in #ScienceCommunication aufschlauen, damit ich in Zukunft besser mit Online-Trollen umgehen kann und die Projektleitung in Krisen besser unterstützen kann.
Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not saying that this is something we shouldn't do. I think it's something we have to do.
But I think the people who do #sciencecommunication need to prepare themselves for a new onslaught of weaponized stupidity.
The link above mentions how science was done more publicly during COVID. I'm sure the editors meant something different, but the entire US scientific community is being destroyed right now because of what happened then.
(3/?)
How do I maintain my patience when an old friend has lost touch of reality to the extent his (maybe?) earnest questions annoy the shit out of me?
Dude used ChatGPT to send me a WaPo article which attempts to calm the "climate alarmist" (quotes mine, not the article's) because climate has always been changing. Here is the link (I can't read the article, nor even see who wrote it, because I am not a subscriber, but I can see the graphic):
#ClimateCastatrophe
#ClimateChange
#ClimateDenial
#ScienceCommunication
What is the National Science Foundation? How can we stand up for federally-funded science in the U.S.?
This lady was on Cerys Matthews BBC 6 Music show and communicating great scientific joy at Nature and all it's hideous but intriguing glory
I hope she considers an account on the Mastodon, with us fellow nerds
https://www.sophiepavelle.com/about
A good one to read and share - on how we talk about cancer, and how it affects our approaches to it, our conception and even our experience.
Battle metaphors are old and unhelpful, and we could do more to move on.
https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/shorthand_story/the-myth-of-the-battle/
Webinar Alert!
Join ENLIGHT & Arqus Alliance for a powerful talk on:
Science in Society: How Science Communication Benefits from Open Science
Monday, May 19
10:00–11:30 PM CET
Online – Registration Required Speaker: Hildrun Walter (Uni Graz)
Explore how Open Science can boost public trust in science amidst global crises 
Register now: https://videoconf-colibri.zoom.us/meeting/register/LNpT-y35RoqO5rENB2dfxA#/registration
@Flowermob Ah yes, classic move:
Ignore scientists for decades, funnel billions into denial campaigns, block legislation…
…and then blame scientists for not “communicating better.”
Next up: blaming the fire alarm for not putting out the fire. 
Just published: my 3rd & final PhD paper!
How should we talk about vaccination rates?
Assuming rationality, normativity, or reasonableness leads to very different outcomes.
Findings from 3 experiments:
Open access paper https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251340326
Data and #rstats code: https://osf.io/2wy9q/
And a longer post over on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alelazic_rstats-psychology-publichealth-activity-7325849777558982656-Z2vf
Our own @BaerbelW traveled to Vienna for this year's #EGU25 General Assembly of the @EuroGeosciences
Baerbel herself did a couple of presentations in Vienna:
* Examples of Skeptical Science successfully collaborating with other organizations so as to better reach shared goals, get more gain for less effort. With so much reward, we're eager to do more.
* How Skeptical Science translates our content into 29 different languages, the challenges of maintaining a polyglot presence. You may be able to help!
Baerbel also kept a daily journal. It's loaded with links to scads of intriguing information presented at the assembly by many researchers, with teasers and organized for easy access.
Post facto virtual attendance , distilled and at our fingertips. :-)
#News: Scientists call for #storytelling in #science to effectively communicate #climatechange and #extinction in order to push for urgent action. Time to connect data with emotion to inspire people. #Biodiversity #ScienceCommunication #SciComms https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402123035.htm?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer
Our newest #ScienceCommunication editorial is published today: detailing a sauropod dinosaur from Argentina with an unusually thin ilium. This came from revisiting the holotype specimen, highlighting the benefit of re-evaluating old fossils stored in museums.
Read the editorial here: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2492520
Read the original paper by Lerzo & Gallina here: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2482168
Interested in pursuing #SciComm as a profession? Then this new Master's program in Germany might be for you: tuition-free (also for international students), entirely taught in English, covering everything from #ScienceCommunication to #ScienceJournalism, #SciArt, public engagement and more.
https://www.hs-ansbach.de/en/master/science-communication/
Application period starts on May 1st.
You may have seen headlines today - such as in The New York Times - suggesting the possible detection of a biosignature on an exoplanet. It’s an exciting prospect, no doubt. But it’s also an extraordinary claim, and as the saying goes, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" (Carl Sagan).
While the molecule in question is associated with biological processes, it’s important to note that non-biological (abiotic) pathways for its formation exist as well (see: Reed et al. 2024 ApJL; Sanz-Novo et al. 2025 ApJL). These results are interesting, but far from conclusive.
Scientists work within a robust framework to test such claims. This includes:
- Peer review and replication
- Community feedback and critique
- Cross-validation through multiple instruments and techniques
- Avoiding sensationalism in science communication
- Building consensus through sustained investigation
I am looking forward to hearing more from the exoplanet and astrobiology communities on these findings before drawing conclusions.
In the meantime, the ripple effect of bold headlines - like "Possible Signs of Extraterrestrial Life" - has already begun. A friend at the dentist this morning spotted a very misleading headline about this on Channel 9 News!
This is where science communication becomes critical: managing public interest and excitement without compromising scientific accuracy.
We should use moments like these to show the process - how scientific ideas are proposed, tested, debated, and refined - to broader audiences. Whether we’re talking about space, climate change, or pandemics, this transparency is essential to building trust in science.
Aliens make for a great headline, but the real story is in how we do the science.
